D. Adjaye-GbewonyoJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health United States

Dzifa Adjaye-Gbewonyo is a recent PhD graduate from the Department of Health, Behavior & Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research interests are in social and structural determinants of global population health. Her focus specifically encompasses health transitions related to social change processes including globalization, urbanization, and economic development. In her current work, she desires to engage in cross-national and comparative studies to assess differences in health outcomes as they relate to socio-structural factors such as political economy, cultural values, social capital, lifestyle factors, and built environments. Previous publications are as follows:

Individualism as Habitus: Reframing the Relationship between Income Inequality and Health

D. Adjaye-Gbewonyo

Abstract

Public health literature has demonstrated a negative effect of income inequality on a number of health outcomes. Researchers have attempted to explain this phenomenon, drawing on psychosocial and neo-materialist explanations. This paper argues, however, that these approaches fail to recognize the crucial role of culture, focusing specifically on the cultural value of individualism. Through a review of the literature and Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice as a theoretical framework, I provide support for the proposition that an ideology based in individualism is the context within which income inequality, social fragmentation, material deprivation, and consequently poor health outcomes are produced. I further offer recommendations for continued research into the role of cultural determinants in the income inequality-health relationship.